Google Maps Widget

Want to help potential customers find your location, or highlight other points of interest on your WordPress website?

Google Maps Widget may be the solution! Here at WPBeginner, we’ve helped countless website owners embed Google Maps on their website, so we’re ideally placed to put this popular map plugin to the test.

In this Google Maps Widget review, we’ll take a look at GMW’s features, support options, and pricing to see whether it’s the right map plugin for you.

Google Maps Widget Review: Why Use It in WordPress?

Are customers struggling to find your business? Or maybe you want to showcase interesting locations on your WordPress blog?

With Google Maps Widget (GMW), you can add an unlimited number of maps to your website. You can also customize these maps by changing the color scheme, adding pins, and choosing a new map style.

If you want to highlight multiple locations, then GMW can group your pins into clusters and also supports filtering. This can help visitors find the pin they’re looking for, which can get you more sales, conversions, and even in-person visits.

Have you installed Google Analytics in WordPress? Then GMW can track each time someone clicks on a map, so you can see how visitors are interacting with your content.

If you’re just getting started or have a limited budget, then you can download the lite version of GMW from WordPress.org.

With the free plugin, you can add a map to any sidebar in your WordPress theme.

However, if you upgrade to the premium plugin then you can add a map to any page, post, or custom post type using a shortcode. In this way, you can control exactly where the map appears on your WordPress website.

Google Maps Widget Review: The Right Maps Plugin for You?

A well-placed Google Map can help visitors find your location, so it’s essential for bricks-and-mortar stores, yoga studios, coffee shops, and similar in-person businesses.

While you could embed a map using code, a Google Maps plugin can make this process much easier. These plugins may also include extra features, so you can add your own styles, color schemes, filtering, pin groups, and more.

In this Google Maps Widget review, we’ll see if it’s the right maps plugin for you.

1. Easy to Set up

GMW makes it easy to add Google Maps to your WordPress website. To start, you can install and activate it just like any other WordPress plugin.

With that done, you’ll need to generate a Google Maps API key. Thankfully, the plugin has detailed information and links to tutorials where you’ll find step-by-step instructions on how to generate this important key.

After that, simply enter the API key into the plugin’s settings and you’re ready to start building custom Google Maps.

2. Mobile Responsive

All the maps created and placed on your website are mobile responsive by default. This means they’re guaranteed to look great, no matter what device the visitor is using.

3. Optimized for Performance

GMW is designed to load the entire Google Map in one request, compared to the multiple requests used by some competing Google Maps plugins.

This can improve your website’s performance, and according to the GMW website may reduce your website’s load size by 2 MB.

4. Add Unlimited Maps

With GMW, you can create as many maps as you want, and then add them to any page, post, or custom post type using a shortcode or widget.

You can also add maps to any widget-ready area such as the footer, sidebar, or similar section.

This is ideal if you want to show the same map across your entire WordPress website. For example, if you run a restaurant website then you might add a map to the footer so potential customers can see exactly where you’re located, no matter where they are on your site.

5. Multiple Map Styles

This plugin supports the full range of Google Map styles.

You can choose between:

• Road. The default map type.
• Satellite. Shows the image as seen from Google’s satellites.
• Hybrid. Combines road and satellite view into a single map.
• Terrain. Shows a physical relief map image, displaying terrain and vegetation.

Alternatively, you can reduce your API calls by using a custom map image.

Going further, you can choose between a ton of ready-made Google Map color schemes such as blue, bright, and neon.

6. Add Custom Messaging and CTAs

With this plugin, you can add text above or below the Google Map. For example, you might provide some extra context or include a call to action such as a link to your contact form.

Even better, GMW supports HTML code plus any shortcodes you’re using on your site, so you can style this text in many different ways.

The plugin also comes with an {address} keyword, which it will automatically replace with the current map address.

7. Customize the Map Thumbnail

GMW lets you customize the default map thumbnail including changing its height and width. Just be aware that your WordPress theme may still resize the thumbnail, in order to fit the sidebar.

You can also display this thumbnail in several formats including PNG, GIF, and JPEG. For more on this topic, please see our guide on the best image formats for WordPress.

8. Adjustable Zoom Level

When creating a map thumbnail, you can customize the default zoom level. The lowest level (0) will show the entire world map, while the highest level (24) displays the location’s streets and vegetation. In this way, you can help visitors get the information they need at a glance. Visitors can also adjust the zoom level, if needed.

9. Create a Multilingual Map

When creating a map, you can choose the language that will be used in the map thumbnail.

Do you run a multilingual WordPress website? Then GMW also has an automatic setting that will change the language based on the user’s browser.

10. Multiple Map Actions

With GMW, you can specify what happens when the visitor clicks on a map thumbnail. To start, you can open the interactive map in a lightbox popup.

Don’t want to open a new window? Then GMW can seamlessly replace the thumbnail map with an interactive Google Map.

Another option is opening an internal or external URL. For example, if the map shows your head office, then you might redirect visitors to your site’s appointment booking form.

Alternatively, you can disable this action completely so nothing happens when the visitor clicks the thumbnail. Or, you might remove the map thumbnail entirely, so visitors see the interactive map as soon as they arrive at the page.

11. Interactive Google Map

As already mentioned, GMW can open an interactive Google Map when the visitor clicks your map thumbnail. This map can either replace the thumbnail within the page content, or open in a lightbox popup.

No matter which method you use, the map has all the features you’d expect from Google Maps. This includes the ability to search for locations, get directions, access street view, and change the zoom level.

If you choose to open the interactive map in a lightbox popup, then you can change the lightbox size or opt for a full-screen popup.

You can also choose between several ready-made lightbox skins, which change the look and feel of the lightbox itself without changing the map content in any way.

You can also choose how the visitor exits the lightbox, such as pressing the ‘Esc’ key on their keyboard or clicking a dedicated ‘Close’ button.

12. Import Color Schemes

GMW comes with several built-in color schemes, or you can import your own. To start, simply create a unique style using an online map builder such as Snazzy Maps.

With that done, you can copy/paste the style’s code into GMW. Just be aware that you can only apply custom styles to the default ‘Road’ map type.

13. Design Unique Pin Styles

Often, you’ll want to highlight specific locations using a pin. To make your map feel unique, you can change these default pins by choosing a new color, size, label, and style. To help you out, GMW has a library of 1,500+ pins you can choose from, or you can use your own graphics.

This is everything you need to create unique pints that capture the visitor’s attention, or pins that perfectly compliment your branding and WordPress theme. Just be aware that custom image pins won’t work if you’re using GMW on a localhost or a HTTPS server.

14. Show Multiple Pins Per Map

GMW allows you to add multiple pins to the same map, so it’s ideal if you run multiple offices, stores, or other locations. You can also help visitors find their nearest tourist attraction, restaurant, or other venues they may want to visit.

When adding a pin, you can show it on the map thumbnail or interactive map only. For example, you might show multiple pins in the fullscreen interactive map, but fewer pins in the thumbnail so it doesn’t look too cluttered.

15. Create Custom Pin Actions

With GMW, you can control exactly what happens when the visitor clicks a pin. To start, you may want to open a custom description bubble containing more information. For example if you run a travel business site, then you might share some useful tips about visiting each location.

Alternatively, you can open a URL in the current tab, or a new tab. This may be useful if you’re promoting locations or venues. For example, your fitness blog might link to the website for each gym featured in its Google Map.

16. Pin Clustering

If you’re using lots of pins, then your maps might start to look confusing and cluttered, especially if all those pins are within the same area.

Thankfully, GMW can group pins based on their distance from the current view. Instead of showing multiple pins close to each other, the plugin will show a single marker with the number of pins clustered below it.

As the visitor zooms in, GMW will automatically expand this single pin, to show all the markers within that cluster.

Even better, this happens automatically so you simply need to enable this feature, and GMW will handle the rest.

17. Organize Your Location Pins

By default, GMW shows every single pin, which can look cluttered or confusing if your map has lots of markers.

With that said, you’ll be happy to learn that GMW supports pin filtering. Simply add a label when creating a pin, and GMW will organize all those pins into the same group. With that done, visitors can filter your pins simply by checking a box.

You can create as many group names as you want. That said, this feature can help visitors find the location they’re looking for, even if your map has a ton of different pins.

18. Import Pin Data

Do you want to add a ton of pins to a map? For example, you might run a travel blog and want to highlight all the best places to eat in a particular city or even country.

Adding each pin manually would take a lot of time and effort. With that said, you’ll be happy to learn that GMW has an import option. This allows you to import an unlimited number of addresses into a widget, and then create pins for all those locations.

To help you out, the GMW team has created a sample file that has all the formatting and columns you need to import pin information.

Just update this spreadsheet with your own locations, and then import it into GMW.

Alternatively, you can simply copy/paste this formatted data into the plugin’s settings.

19. Track with Google Analytics

Have you installed Google Analytics on your WordPress website? Then GMW can track every time someone clicks on a thumbnail or opens an interactive map. This allows you to see how people are interacting with your maps, and which maps get the most engagement.

Even better, this feature is fully compatible with all Google Analytics solutions and GA tracking code versions.

20. Import and Export Tools

Do you run multiple sites, such as several blogs in an affiliate marketing network?

In that case, you may want to use the same maps, pins, and settings across multiple websites. Instead of recreating these Google Maps manually, you can export all the widgets you created using GMW.

You can then import this .txt file into any other website where you have GMW installed. Even better, this import won’t override any GMW widgets on the new website.

21. Community and Professional Support

GMW makes it easy to get a Google Maps API key and then add maps to any page, post, or widget-ready area. However, the plugin comes with a ton of customization options, along with extra filtering and clustering features. With that said, at some point you may need some extra help with GMW.

To start, there’s online documentation that you can access 24/7. This covers everything you need to add interactive maps to WordPress, along with guides on how to fix common WordPress errors you may encounter when using GMW.

Beyond that, there’s a blog where the GMW team cover a range of topics, including how to use Google Maps to improve your WordPress SEO and grow your online business.

If you’re using the free GMW plugin, then you can post to the Google Maps Widget forum on WordPress.org, and get answers to basic questions.

When posting to support forums, try to include as much information as possible. This will help the GMW team to understand your problem and post a helpful response. For more on this topic, please see our guide on how to properly ask for WordPress support.

If you buy the premium GMW plugin, then you’ll also get access to email support, so you can get help directly from the experts.

Google Maps Widget Review: Pricing and Plans

If you’re just getting started or have a limited budget, then you can download the lite version of Google Maps Widget for free. This plugin can add a map to any widget-ready area and comes with a ton of customization options.

However, if you want to unlock powerful features such as the Google Analytics integration, support for multiple pins, and shortcodes, then you’ll need to upgrade to the premium plugin.

No matter what plan you choose, you’ll get the full set of Google Maps Widget features. However, there are some key differences between the plans:

• Pro Personal. For $29 per year, you can install GMW on a single WordPress blog, website, or online store.
• Pro Lifetime. Prefer to make a one-time payment? For $39, you can use GMW on a personal blog or website, for as long as you want.
• Pro Unlimited. Do you run a WordPress development agency or manage client websites? For $79, you can use GMW on as many websites as you want. Even better, Pro Unlimited is a lifetime plan.

Google Maps Widget Review: The Right Maps Plugin for You?

In this Google Maps Widget review, we looked at its features, support options, and pricing to help you decide if it’s the right mapping plugin for you.

To sum up this GMW review, the free plugin is a great option if you want to add a map to a widget-ready area, such as the sidebar or WordPress footer. However, if you want to add multiple pins or embed your map in a page or post, then you’ll need the premium plugin.

By buying a Google Maps Widget license, you’ll get access to a library of 1500+ pins, shortcodes, and the option to add multiple pins to the same map. The premium plugin also integrates with Google Analytics, so you can better track your website’s visitors.

We hope this Google Maps Widget review helped you decide whether it’s the right map plugin for you. Next, you may want to see our guide on how to increase your blog traffic, or check out our expert pick of the best live chat software.

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